The Quick Version

Let’s talk about the Holy City of Ciel for a minute. Granted, most of what I know revolves around its legal system, so let’s start there.

It would seem that they take the crime of heresy rather seriously. What exactly is heresy? A good question.

From what I can gather, heresy constitutes pretty much everything they view as an insult toward their gods. And there aren’t different levels to it. Heresy is heresy. Simple as that.

And it turns out being an undead counts as heresy.

Now I know what you must be thinking, how did they manage to see through my femme fatale act? Well, that force I felt when I first entered the city was a barrier designed to keep heretical creatures like me out. By forcing my way through it I smashed the whole thing to bits. That got everyone’s attention.

Heresy is also considered such a terrible crime that those accused of it can’t even go to the normal dungeon. That would risk poisoning the minds of the normal prisoners. Your average run of the mill prisoner was there to be reformed, but there was no hope of reforming a heretic. Heretics were sent to special heretic prison.

Another thing I know about The Holy City of Ciel is that they take the concept of nobility incredibly seriously. If nobles were the ones chosen by the gods to lead the common man, it would be heretical to treat them poorly. It didn’t matter if you were from Ciel or somewhere else. They treated all nobles with more respect than they deserved. Even if they broke the same laws as someone else, they wouldn’t be sent to the normal dungeon.

They’d be sent somewhere far worse.

If nobles were chosen by the gods, it’s even more unforgivable for them to commit crimes. At least, that’s what the Holy City seems to advocate.

Do you see where this is going? In all of the Holy City there was only a single place that was able to accommodate someone who was both a noble and a heretic. And I don’t mean one building, I mean a single room.

Despite how I might have described it earlier, the crime of heresy was actually pretty rare. Sure, it would be easy to abuse, but the people in charge of the Holy City were known for being incredibly fair.

And having grown up in that kind of environment, most nobles were incredibly well behaved. It would have made things easy for everyone if the Holy City and the religion behind it were actually corrupt, but that just wasn’t true. For once, the self righteous religious fanatics were actually just good guys.

Anyway, because of that, they clearly weren’t ever expecting to have four nobles in custody for heresy at the same time. Yeah, there were four of us.

I should go without mentioning, but I’m mentioning myself first anyway. I was absolutely a noble, and from their standards, I was a heretic as well.

I looked toward the person to the right of me.

“Sanson, how did you end up here?”

He was a noble sure, but what heresy did he commit? Was stripping at the main gate really all it took?

“Haha, it’s a riveting tale!”

“Give me the quick version, thanks.”

“Well, I was brought before the High Bishop.”

“Yeah, I remember hearing that would happen.”

“From there things get a little confusing. We had a short discussion, and the next thing I knew, everyone was calling me a heretic and they took me here.”

“Uh huh. I can imagine it’s not as confusing as what you seem to think it is. What did you say?”

“That’s just the thing, I hardly had any time to say anything at all. As you do, I made sure to expose myself as soon as I could, after that, the conversation ended.”

“Of course it did!”

“I mean, why would they bring me to the main altar in the Temple of the Holy Dragon if they didn’t want me to be completely naked?”

“Your line of thinking is the only confusing thing here! Let me get this straight. They took you to the head of this place’s religion, at the most religious location in the city, and you decided that was the right time to undress?”

“Rem, that’s ridiculous. The High Bishop isn’t the head of our religion. He just manages it. And besides, how else was I supposed to show my sincerity and apologize for using up the resurrection scroll I borrowed?”

Oh yeah. I completely forgot about that. The scroll that they used to resurrect my old follower turned to dust after the ritual was completed. I’m not sure what it was worth, but stealing something like that definitely qualified as heresy.

“Well that explains one of you.” Safe to say that Sanson definitely deserved to be here. “Alright, what about you?” I addressed the man across from me.

“Well first of all, I’m glad you got my message.” Yeah, it was Rakki, the guy we came here to rescue. In his case, the heresy wasn’t as surprising as him apparently being a noble. Although now that I think about it, he did seem to have a lot of money back in Ah’Ruh.

“Did you set off the barrier like I did?” I didn’t know what he was, but I at least knew he wasn’t human.

“Huh? Of course not. Slipping through that thing was so easy I didn’t even notice it. Only an idiot would set that thing off.”

“Then pray tell, if you’re not an idiot, what got you sent here?”

“The truth.”

“About what exactly?”

“I haven’t been here in a while, but this city used to be my old stomping grounds. Back then it wasn’t anything special though. Anyway, you know that statue in the main square?”

“No.” I looked toward Sanson for an explanation.

“I believe our companion here is referring to the statue of Saint Garris and the Holy Dragon. Almost a Millenia ago Saint Garris, along with his trusted ally the Holy Dragon, was the one who turned Ciel into the Holy City of Ciel, an independent city state that answers only to the gods themselves.”

“Alright, problem number two, please continue.” I refocused on Rakki.

“Whenever I saw it, I happened to mention to a few people that they got the statue completely wrong.”

“Why?”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know why he said it, or why he thought it.

“Because that’s supposed to be a statue of me, but it doesn’t look anything like me!”

“You’re Saint Garris?”

For some reason I was the only one to react.

“What? That’s ridiculous. Of course not. I was the dragon.”

“I should have seen that coming. Wait a minute, Sanson, shouldn’t you be more involved in this revelation?”

“Hmm? Rakki and I already discussed this topic long ago. You were there. It was right before we revived the girl whose body you possessed.”

“What? Did something like that really happen? You can’t expect me to remember something for that long!” I figured it was just a dropped plot point or something. I mean, I had a lot going on at the time. I was practically a different character back then.

“Hey, I’m not done yet!” Rakki yelled, getting our attention back on him. “I said I was the dragon, but that’s not right either! I can clearly remember those days, and I was definitely a wyvern at the time. And yet they’re putting this so-called ‘dragon’ all over the place. It’s ridiculous!”

“So you made a scene and they arrested you?”

“That about sums it up. I thought about just killing them all, but then I remembered the good times with Gary. I would have felt bad massacring an entire city of his followers.”

“No, you wouldn’t have needed to kill the entire city, but whatever. And you’re a noble as well?”

“You live as long as I have and you’ll end up a noble in plenty of kingdoms, most of which don’t exist anymore. Ever since I decided to become a witch I stopped keeping track of that kind of stuff, but apparently my essence was registered as a noble in this city. What’s up with the questions anyway? I explained all this in the message I sent.”

“What? Your letter said next to nothing!” Not that I could read it, but my little sister told me what it said.

“Letter? Oh, wow! Those humans actually delivered that letter? Huh. I guess humans aren’t completely useless. I never knew.”

“I’m not a human, so I’ll let that slide, but if you weren’t talking about that, what message are you talking about?”

“The one I asked Harrison to give you.”

“Who is Harrison supposed to be?”

“A giant centipede, we go way back. I had been keeping one of his spawn in my back pocket for years now. I sent him to ask Harrison to go get you for me.”

“And you thought that was more reliable than a letter? Is this Harrison really so trustworthy?”

“Can his venom melt through solid steel?”

“How should I know?”

“Well, it definitely can. Which reminds me, if you guys didn’t run into him, we should probably get back to Milize sooner rather than later. He’s a real nice guy, but the moment something unexpected happens he goes berserk. If he can’t find the people he was supposed to deliver my message to, oh boy, it’s going to be a bloodbath.”

“A nice guy wouldn’t cause a bloodbath for something so minor!”

“Hey, we all have our issues. You should have seen Harrison and my old flame go at it. Those two brought out the worst in each other."

“Like I care! Besides, it won’t be an issue. Eris is still back at Milize.”

“What? He is? I thought this person was Eris.” Rakki pointed to the man sitting to my left.

“That’s a man!”

“Yeah, you might think I never learn, but I knew he was a man. That’s why I thought it was Eris.”

“Eris is a woman!”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Of course I am!”

“Are you sure you’re not Eris?” Rakki asked him directly.

“Nope. Seems like you three have some kind of thing going, so I thought it best to just keep to myself. I’m just another idiot who set off the alarm trying to enter the city.”

He and I were in agreement. Just one look at him and I knew he was bad news, that’s why I didn’t want to bring him up. I mean, this guy was clearly main character material. I’ve lived my life thinking I was the protagonist of everything, but after meeting this guy, I’m really starting to question that.

He was moderately attractive and wearing the same style uniform that Ane’s bodyguard always wore. His hair was mostly black, but there were also multiple red streaks running through it. His irises also had an unnatural reddish glow to them. Sure, my eyes were red too, but his were literally glowing. And that wasn’t even the most impactful thing about him. His shadow that extended up the wall behind him was clearly staring down and smiling at us.

That’s right. This guy was the ultimate rule of cool edgy anti-hero type. He couldn’t match my intelligence or beauty, but were those really main character traits? Not really, no. With him involved, the best I could hope for was a position as a heroine. Although since I’m already in a relationship with someone else, even that avenue is closed off.

Am I just a side character? Has my whole life just been an elaborate set up to be a supporting character in this guy's epic tale of revenge and redemption as he regains his lost status?

No, calm down, that can’t be true. Let’s just think about this. He might seem cool, but I’ve got a grandiose backstory. I used to be a god. That has to count for something.

“Hmm. Now that I’ve taken a good look at you, I suppose you’re not Eris.” At least Rakki finally saw the light. “You’ve clearly been possessed by a high class Demon. Probably from one of the great houses of the Hells. Eris never had that demonic stink about her.”

What? Possessed? High class demon? That’s not good.

“Rakki, answer me honest and answer me true, what’s more impressive, the demon that possessed this guy, or the god that I used to be?”

“That’s easy. Forest gods like you are a bronze coin a dozen. High class demons are more powerful in an individual sense, and more impactful on a large scale.”

It’s over!

“This might sound odd considering we are all locked up in a heretical prison cell, but I’d rather you not discuss what I may or may not be possessed by so openly. Besides, from the sound of things you guys are from Valieris, right? I was actually sent here by the king to investigate the situation, so we’re all on the same side.”

“The situation?”

“Yeah. I won’t ask why you’re here, but you’re Baronetess Remnant Blanche from Valieris, correct?”

The main character wannabe called out to me while standing up. The chains keeping him bound to the wall rusted away into tiny flakes that gracefully floated to the ground.

“Huh? What? Ah, I get it. With a face like mine I knew this day would come.” A stalker. He must have set this all up just to meet with me.

I also made sure to rip my chains out of the wall and stand up. I couldn’t let him out do me.

“I’m not sure what you’re imagining, but no. We’ve never met, but I can recognize you. I’m an imperial knight of the Valieris Kingdom. Your rise to nobility and connection to Anelace are common talking points in the capital. Besides, I’ve heard all about you from Seleni.”

An imperial knight. From what little I knew, that rank was basically equal to mine.

“Wait, I can understand gossip about someone as extravagant as me spreading all the way to the capital, but how exactly would that help you recognize me?”

He looked somewhat troubled, as if he was thinking too hard about how to word his answer.

“Well, along with gossip, there are also a few artistic renderings with you, often paired with a few lines of text.”

“Impressive, even for me. My beauty shines through, even as an illustration.”

“Yes, well, that, along with the fact that you were wearing a ball gown with the Blanche family crest on it while in a dungeon. I knew it had to be you. Am I correct in thinking that you’re here under Anelace’s permission?”

“Of course.” It’s not like I needed her permission, but I still made sure to get it.

“Then you know what Aizus and Ciel are planning?”

“. . . Yes.”

Obviously I had to lie. I wasn’t going to let him lord his precious knowledge over me.

“Good. Then we don’t have to waste any time on going back over things.”

“Very true. We hardly have the time to just stand around talking. But maybe we should cover things, just so the others are up to speed.”

“No, you're right. We don’t have time. You can fill them in later.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I need to stop them.”

“I see. Yes. I agree. You should go. I’ll handle things here.”

Handle what exactly? I have no idea, but having come this far I decided to just roll with it.

“That’s perfect! I’m glad you agree with me. Most nobles wouldn’t support me like this. If you weren’t here I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Well, what can I say? I'm a hero.”

“Yes, you really are. So if we are in agreement, would you mind registering a bit of your magic with me?”

Register my magic? Oh, I remember. That’s what I had to do with my noble identification paperwork when I first got it.

“Ha, easy.”

I held out my hand and sent some of my essence toward him. I completely lacked the ability to control magic in the way humans did, but I learned that if I just blast a bunch of my life force at stuff it will count as registering my magic.

Hmm? How did I blast my life force? I don’t really know. I just kind of imagine a part of me leaving my body and it happens. If I do it too much I start to feel weak, but after a few minutes I’ll be fine. It’s how I link myself to my clothes, how I connect with the noble seal, and how I figured out how to make my hair grow.

As my energy reached him the Valieris coat of arms on his uniform briefly started to glow.

“Thank you. I’ll handle things from here. Originally I planned on being a model prisoner, but at this point things couldn’t get much worse. I’d suggest that you use this opportunity to escape and head to the capital as soon as possible.”

His creepy shadow stopped smiling and started wrapping around his right arm. It formed a bestial clawed hand that he used to rip through the stone wall that he was previously chained to. It only took him a few seconds to smash through it completely. He gave me one final look before rushing out.

I can’t say for certain, but right at the end, it looked like he wanted to apologize.

“Alright, I’m just going to say it. What was all that about?” With him gone, I didn’t need to hold back anymore.

“I’m not sure.” Sanson was the one who answered. “Why didn’t he just break the door?”

“That’s not what I was talking about, but whatever. We found Rakki, so let’s just go home already. I’ve had enough of this place.”

I snapped the metal cuffs off of Sanson’s arms and instinctively started walking toward the hole in the wall. That’s when I realized why he needed to apologize to me. That wanna-be hero stole my prison break! Sure, technically I’d still be breaking out of prison, but it didn’t feel like that. I was really just following in the wake of his prison break.

My instincts were right. I finally found a worthy rival.

“Wait, even if you leave, that doesn’t solve my problem.” Rakki was yelling at me while still chained to the wall.

“Sanson is a normal human, so I helped him. You can break your own chains.”

“I could, but that’s not the issue. I agreed to be captured. If I wanted to break out I’d have done it myself, or rather, I wouldn’t have let myself get arrested in the first place.”

Interesting. I had just assumed that Rakki hadn’t had the idea to cause a prison break, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

“If you don’t want to escape, why did you call us here?”

“I want to be released from prison.”

“Well I’m currently trying to release you.”

“Not like that. I’m not bound to contracts like our friend who just left, but I’m still a witch of their word. I let myself get arrested, so I can only leave if the person who sent me here agrees to release me.”

“Ahh, this is going to be a pain isn’t it? What about you, Sanson?”

“Me? Haha, don’t fret over someone like me. I’ll be leaving with you. If I stayed in the dungeon for my full sentence every time they sent me here I’d have never been able to leave this city in the first place!”

“Good. Do you have any idea what we can do about this? I’ve brought it up before, but I don’t know any lawyers.” As much as I liked the idea of Sanson and I forming a crackpot legal duo, I didn’t like our odds in court.

“Haha, you’re still thinking like a commoner. Do not forget, my friend, we are in a noble prison. We simply need to find the nobleman who had our friend here convicted of heresy. Once we’ve determined their court rank, we simply need to ask someone with a higher rank to reverse the conviction.”

“I like the sound of that idea, but one problem, how are we supposed to do that second part?”

“Worry not, my eldest brother will certainly assist us.”

“Eh? I really don’t like your odds in getting anyone from your family to help, but I’m sure we’ll find someone. Rakki, do you know who it was who sent you here?”

“Of course. I was sent here by Chancellor Garris himself. Comical, I know. I would have expected someone borrowing the name of my friend to at least be able to recognize me.”

“Chancellor Garris the 54th himself? That could prove problematic.” For the first time since I met him Sanson looked troubled over something that didn’t involve stripping.

“Problematic how? If you know who that guy is we’re practically done with this already.”

“I know who it is, but we’re far from finished. My apologies Rem, but my plan will not suffice. Chancellor is the highest position in the Holy City of Ciel. While he only rules over this single city, his rank is essentially that of a king. If he made his decision, then there is nothing we can do. There is no one to outrank him.”

The highest position? I’m surprised something like that even exists within the Holy City. Actually, does it? Isn’t Sanson overlooking something important?

“I’m disappointed in you, Sanson.”

“Then I must work to think up a new strategy in order to regain your trust.”

“No, I’m not disappointed in your plan. You told me I was thinking like a commoner, well, you're thinking too much like a human. Chancellor is the highest position in the Holy City? I don’t think so. In any other city or kingdom you might be right, but in this city, perhaps only in this city, there is an entire group of people that hold a higher position than chancellor.” I pointed straight up. “You wanted to go over his head? That’s exactly what we’ll do. We’ll go so far over his head that we’ll end up using the authority of the gods themselves.”